New First Church Website/Blog Location

First UMC Carrollton just launched a new website on Monday. Go check it out: www.firstchurch.net.

This blog will now be available as a part of that site, along with other blogs and updates connected with our church. The blog can be found at www.firstchurch.net/missionsblog. I will probably continue to post here for a little while, but may eventually switch over to only posting there.

Thanks!

Abbey

Local Volunteer Opportunities

Below is a letter I received from a volunteer coordinator at World Impact Ministries in Dallas. Groups from our church have volunteered with them several times and we are big believers in what they are doing. Check out their website for more information about them.

Please let me know if there is anything on this list that you would like to help with, and I will be sure to connect you with the people at WID.

Upcoming WID Events

October 23-24^th: Jr. High Girls Night

Last year we had 30 girls come to this event. We need Godly women to come serve and build relationships for this night, as it is vital to our ministry. Most of the girls we meet at the Jr. High School will never come to our Wednesday night Bible Study...until they have gone to a girl's night!

This event starts at 5pm on Friday and goes until 9am on Saturday. The location is the women's missionary house at 2729 South Blvd, Dallas, TX. We will need help with purchasing drinks, food, and crafts. As it will be a slumber party, we will be tye-dying pillowcases. Also, we need volunteers to help oversee activities and help prepare food. Please contact Amanda Sherrill atasherrill@worldimpact.org if you are interested.

October 31^st : Youth Scavenger Hunt

Every year we partner with Interfaith Ministries and provide an alternative to Halloween. With over 60 kids attending, we will need your help! Starting in the afternoon, we will have 3-4 different teams going on a scavenger hunt across DFW. After hours of fun, we come back to the World Impact Ministry Center for food, games, and fellowship. We will need help in the following areas:

• Donating food
• Decorating our Ministry Center and setting up tables w/food
• Attending the scavenger hunt by being a team leader
• Preparing the scavenger hunt (Contact Amanda or Glen A.S.A.P)
• Preparing games

As this event is still in the preparation stages, please contact Amanda Sherrill at asherrill@worldimpact.org, or Glen Banks at gbanks@worldimpact.org if you are interested.

November 6^th,7th: Garage Sale

In order to raise funds for the ministry, we are having a garage sale at the women’s missionary house (2729 South Blvd, Dallas, TX 75215). Volunteers are needed to prepare and help oversee the garage sale. This would be a great event to get your small group involved in for a service project! The garage sale will run from 8am-1pm Saturday, November 7^th. However, we will need assistance the day before in organizing, labeling, and moving items from the World Impact Ministry Center to the women’s missionary house. So if you cannot make it Saturday, please come anytime Friday to help! For more information, contact Amanda Sherrill at asherrill@worldimpact.org

December 12th: Christmas Shoppe!

Look out for the flyer coming soon! Every year WID partners with local churches to make Christmas shopping for the families in our community easier. Save the date, and keep a watch for more information in the upcoming weeks! Please contact Glen Banks at gbanks@worldimpact.org for more information.

But now finish doing it also, so that just as there was the readiness to desire it, so there may be also the completion of it by your ability. For if the readiness is present, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have.

-2 Corinthians 8:11-12

Diana Drake's Memories from the Colombia Trip

About 2 months ago I went on an amazing trip to Bogota, Colombia with a group from our church. We got to work with a wonderful group of missionaries from YWAM (Youth with a Mission) who live and work in the Bogota area. It was also really neat to actually work in the building that our church helped pay for through the Bigfoot Comedy night fundraiser last year. The building is used as a play center where the street kids in the YWAM program can come to have fun. We got to add some great play areas in that building, like a rope bridge, a texture wall, hammocks to climb on, a basketball court, and we fixed the rock climbing wall. Also, we got to go out and visit some of the schools and drop-in centers that YWAM helps run for the street kids. It was truly incredible to get to be with these kids, both in the centers and on the streets, and experience a small part of what life is like for them there.

I’ve been on short-term mission trips before, and there are always lessons learned and experiences you take from them. For me, there were several experiences that I know will stay with me for a long time to come. One was seeing a perfect rainbow in the mist over the city of Bogota, a reminder to me that there is beauty in the world even in the most unexpected places. The streets of Bogota are often filled with trash, and the homeless are everywhere, living where they can and struggling to survive. Seeing the incredible poverty, I couldn’t help but compare it to the way we live here at home. We have clean streets, safe homes, and an abundance of food and possessions. We are so blessed, but I know that I was reminded that we must never take that for granted, or think that we somehow deserve the blessings God has given us. We are blessed so that we may bless others. I know that it is good for me to be reminded of that, and to keep a sense of perspective in my life and a sense of gratitude for all God has given me.

For me, the most memorable experiences in Bogota were when we got to meet the children. Each day we visited a different school, so we only got to spend an hour or two with most of the children, then say goodbye. I wasn’t sure what kind of impact we could have in such a short amount of time. However, what we got to represent was simply the love of God for those kids. We were there to smile and hug and show them that somebody cares. And they showed us the same. We helped them make a beaded cross necklace, with each color bead representing part of the salvation message. Hopefully these crosses will remind them of God’s love for them always. These children had so little, yet they were able to laugh and smile and show love. We, who have so much, should certainly be able to do the same.

Going to Colombia was an amazing experience, and I hope to be able to go back sometime soon.

Diana Drake

Update letter from the Scarbroughs

August 12, 2009

Hello family and friends.

Summer is almost over and we have been enjoying the warmth that it brings to Minnesota. We have a lot to share with you since our last newsletter. First, please know we appreciate the time that you take to read this letter. We are so blessed to be able to share with you what the Lord is doing in our lives, and in the YWAM Ministry that you are a part of.

This first half of the year has been very busy for us at YWAM-Minneapolis. We sent three teams on missions: the first to Colombia, another to the Amazon region of Peru, and the third to Ecuador. In the most recent Discipleship Training School, we had 8 students, including two from Korea and one from Spain.

The YWAM-Minneapolis campus is prepared for summer Mission Adventures teams. This summer, we are hosting 20 youth groups, and sending them to minister in the South Dakota Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, Panama, Minneapolis, and Galveston, Texas, and Haiti.

Rebeca has taken over the management of our large, commercial-style kitchen, cooking for 38 people most days of the week, and 150 a day when we have youth groups on campus. She is now a Minnesota Licensed Kitchen Manager. Rebeca prepares the menu, orders the food, and trains staff and students on her team. She wants to provide excellent food service to all of the YWAM-Minneapolis staff and students. Rebeca knows how hard it is on outreach missions, and she wants to bless the staff and students with tasty, high-quality nutrition while they are studying and doing practical work here.

John is continuing development of energy-saving strategies to be used on YWAM bases around the world. As YWAM reduces utility bills, it gives more money to our primary mission of taking the Gospel to the nations. Here, our current goal is to reduce energy cost by an additional $30,000 to $40,000 or 33% a year. I believe that the Lord has given me special skills in energy-use efficiency. I am working to make our campus a model, where my team and I can help other YWAM campuses achieve the same efficiencies. I really want to see it happen: Increasing YWAM resources to share Jesus' love, making disciples of the Nations according to the Great Commission.

We would like to share something special with you. Rebeca's mother died in Tedzidz, Mexico at the end of December. Her mom had been living for the last 10 years with liver disease. The doctors attributed the problem to her lack of nutrients while carrying and birthing 11 children. Due to the lack of correct food, and lack of education about health matters, it is a common problem in the little towns of Mexico like Tedzidz. On December 15, 2008, the call came that it was looking like Rebeca's mother was in her final hours. We got right to work at trying to get Rebeca down there. Due to the coming Christmas holiday, it proved impossible - all flights were full. We got a call on December 16th that Rebeca's mother had been calling for Rebeca all night, saying she really wanted to see Rebeca before she died. Rebeca talked to the doctor later that day, and he told Rebeca the end was just hours away: Mama had slipped into a coma. Rebeca called every few hours to see how things were going.

When Rebeca called the next morning to check in, she got some incredible news. Mom was up and eating, she told everyone that she was not going yet!!! Rebeca listened as her brother told her what had happened the night before. He said he had been up all night praying with Mama. He did not know everything that was going on, but he continued to pray in the Spirit all night for his mom. He did not know the significance of what he was praying until his mother woke up, and told him "where" she had been. She said she had been to the entry of Heaven where she saw 2 very tall people with the most beautiful faces she had ever seen. One of the "people" spoke to her and told her to wait. He said, "We are not sure we are ready for you yet, we may send you back." And, as she looked through the "Gate" she saw a lot of people in white robes around a person sitting in a huge chair. Mother was told by one of the men at the gate that the person on the throne wanted to speak with her. Then, she saw herself in front of the chair; He spoke to her and said, "Today is not your day, but your time is very near. I want you to go back to your house and testify to your family, your church, your town, and everyone who has ears to hear, I am the Lord God, and that I am Real. Give testimony of what you have seen. Tell them I can make the sick well; I can raise the dead. Now go!"

Rebeca's mother never saw the face of the One on the throne; she only saw a very bright light. His voice was sweet and loud at the same time, and very pleasant to the ears. Rebeca's mother was also told that soon would be her time, and when the Lord calls the next time, it will be quick and painless.

Rebeca's mother enjoyed 5 more days of life. She spent that time preaching on the front porch of her house, in her church, and spoke to each of her children one at a time. She spoke with Rebeca for hours at a time on the phone, and also enjoyed just sitting close with Rebeca's father. Rebeca's siblings told her it was like Mom and Dad were dating. After this, many people became Christians, and were encouraged by the amazing testimony. She showed many that God is real, and he is waiting for us to finish our race well.

On December 22, 2008 at 2pm mother sat down for her final time and asked if Rebeca had made it yet. She was told, "No mother, Rebeca is not able to make it." She said: "Very well, it is time for me to go. They are coming for me. I will see you there! Can you see them?" At that she closed her eyes and was gone.

Rebeca's mother is now with the Lord.

Please keep us in your prayers, especially for Rebeca, who is still processing this huge loss, knowing we will all see each other in Heaven again. Praise the Mighty Name of JESUS!!!!

Maria Antonia Ku Cel 1935-2008

John and Rebeca

Update from Adrienne Mickler

September 2009

I am rich.

You are rich too.

For whatever reason, this has become a label that most of us, including myself, strongly dislike. We rarely, if ever, claim that we are indeed rich [in the economic sense], but we are. We have a tremendous and delicate responsibility to distribute these resources to those without, in a fashion that preserves people’s dignity.

The manner and attitude in which we contend for others speaks more than we may realize. It is far more complex than simply giving out a piece of bread. It is discovering a way in which the relationship can be symbiotic, where both parties can give and receive. Otherwise, despite our good intentions, the relationship becomes hierarchical: those who “have” are at the top, and those who “have not” are at the bottom. This is not how it is meant to be. “Love your neighbor as yourself” implies equality.

Upon acknowledging this responsibility, I often feel a deep, overwhelming sense of guilt. I go, I give, and I serve out of this sentiment. I have learned that living with this guilt mentality is destructive and frequently results in feelings of resentment, bitterness, burn out, etc. I must go and give and serve because that is my heart’s desire.

I believe we are created to use our desires for the cause of Christ and for other people. If we are not living out of these deep places of longing, then of course we will feel a degree of exhaustion. If we are created to function in one capacity but choose to live from something else, we are neglecting a fundamental piece of who we are and thus live a life unfulfilled.

When we begin living against our heart’s desires, we start to compartmentalize “ministry”. It is no longer our life, but simply a part. This has become a very common way to ease our consciences. As long as we are doing “ministry” a few times a week, we’re good. But no, we still aren’t living the life we were intended to live and if we are honest with ourselves, we still long for more.

During these next six weeks, the “imagining posture”, we will be looking even deeper into these issues: living out our responsibility with God, gaining a clear sense and pursuit of our personal calling, and exploring and innovating different ways to be communities of faith. We will read Acts and Revelation in the Bible and other notable texts, as always.

Please continue to pray that I would stay focused, particularly at this stage of the year. There have been a plethora of external issues vying for my attention (eg. I miss Ryan!). But I believe that especially now, during the climax of the year, I must remain attuned to God’s promptings.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

With Love,

Adrienne

2009 Trip Summary

El Paso:

October

This trip has its first informational meeting Sunday, August 2, after church in the library. Exact dates will be decided by the group. Ministry will be to the physically and spiritually poor of this region through volunteering with several homeless shelters and community centers. This will be a short trip - about 4 days - and inexpensive - airfare plus $100 for ministry expense. No heavy construction involved. Contact Susan Sublett at sublettfamily@gmail.com.

Aurich, Germany

July 24-August 2

Please be in prayer for this group as they spread the gospel through baseball.

Nigeria

Early November

With Scott and Shirley Grigsby

Quito, Ecuador

First week of December

Karen and Sam Pedersen will be heading back to Ecuador to be a part of "Christmas at the Dump". Contact Sam or Karen at samnkaren@verizon.net. Cost: $2,000

Bogota, Colombia

August 8-15

Tickets have been purchased for this group but if you are interested contact Robyn Patzig at rpatzig@sbcglobal.net. Cost: $1,100

Cambodia

September 24-October 3

Tickets have been purchased for this trip, but we will head back next summer. We ask that you all be in prayer as we take the next step since adopting the Khmer people as our Unreached People Group.

Update from Adrienne Mickler

July 2009

Aunt Esther. She sits sideways in her big chair, smelling of alcohol, legs propped up on the arm, short white hairs poke out the sides of her lime green knitted hat as she carefully raises the floral porcelain teacup towards her mouth with fragile shaking hands. She is an adorable, elderly Afrikaner lady who is quite witty, despite the fact that she is nearly deaf and blind. When speaking with her, one must sit uncomfortably close and speak at a painfully loud volume. She has her door open from 4am until late at night, even during the colder winter months, for the sole purpose of being able to greet and be greeted by the strangers who happen to walk by. She feels forgotten and alone, and perhaps rightly so. Her family rarely visits and all her friends have passed away. I met her by accident several months ago and have been visiting her weekly ever since. She does not ever remember my name but she knows me as one of the girls that stop by on Thursday mornings for tea and conversation. She is teaching me the powerful value of being present. She cares little about what I could do for her and repeatedly expresses her gratitude for just being with her. She has taught me that my time is the most valuable gift I will ever have to offer.

“Hospitality is Resistance.” (from a book we just finished titled, Making Room: Recovering Hospitality as a Christian Tradition, by Christine D. Pohl) This is Christian hospitality: one that welcomes “the least”, which recognizes their equal value, and respects their dignity; one that goes against the hospitality that invites only those with whom we are comfortable. If we are truly welcoming people we must, again, be present and invite in the fashion that Jesus did: sitting side-by-side, face-to-face, engaging in equal relationship with everyone, especially those whom the world labels as inferior. I do not mean to say that if you are not considered lesser then you cannot receive the fruits of someone else's hospitality. But I would like to challenge us to remember those for whom hospitality was originally intended. True hospitality was meant to be a manner in which to care for the marginal groups in society; not as a means of entertaining the elite. I highly recommend reading Making Room. It addresses all the practical barriers that typically inhibit most of us from really engaging in this kind of hospitality.

It is now the middle of the year. Last week marked the completion of the “inviting posture”, where I began learning the fundamental importance of simply being present with people. Today is the beginning of the “Contending Posture” where we will be identifying and confronting issues of injustice, contending for peace and wholeness in people’s lives, and pursuing holiness together. We will spend time studying the prophetic literature in the Bible and continue reading other texts with a focus on contending.

If you are able, please continue praying for me during these upcoming months. I have reached a time of the year when I am struggling to stay focused, resulting in a lack of motivation to continue seeking as I should.

Thank you so much, for everything…

With Love,
Adrienne

Update from Adrienne Mickler

April 2009

You all have played an integral role in allowing me to be here and I want to include you on this journey in a more personal manner than I have in the past. You have given me a rare and beautiful gift: space and time to discover what it means to be attentive and listen with my heart.

The past six weeks (called the “listening posture”) have been a time of recognizing and learning to accept who God has created me to be; even in the ordinary: what I like and dislike, my fears and dreams, my strengths and weaknesses, my needs and interests, my natural inclinations, etc. I have done an incredible job of even deceiving myself about who I am. I believe that accepting my identity in Christ must happen in order for me to identify what I am meant to do and what God desires for my life.

Through this time of self-discovery, I am experiencing something new and exciting: freedom. When I remember that God fashioned me in His image, and I recognize myself as His daughter, whom He loves, I am free. God knows my innermost thoughts, and He created me to experience countless different emotions, each in a particular manner. Rather than negating the value of these, I am beginning to embrace them. The sense of guilt that often follows when I think or feel a certain way disappears when I acknowledge and include God in those thoughts and feelings. If He is welcomed into our mind and heart, we are free of condemnation. This is revolutionizing my life.

On a slightly different note, we are now entering into the “submerging posture”. This entails learning what it means to be more committed and submitted to one another, more connected with and actively serving our neighbors, and grasping the power of the incarnation. We will be focusing on the gospels in the Bible and reading some other texts as well. I will spend more time with a select few ministries in order to decide where to commit for the remainder of the year. Some include work with young girls who have experienced varying degrees of abuse, and working with an economically poor community to start a vegetable garden. The nutrients that vegetables provide are absolutely essential in the treatment of AIDS, which is rampant throughout Africa. The garden would allow for more people to have access to the essential nutrients their bodies need to stay alive.

With that, please pray that I would sense God’s leading in where I can best serve. There is also something of which I need prayer that I rarely reveal to people: I long to sense something that is undeniably from God. I constantly struggle with doubt and skepticism in this area. Although I am learning, I am easily bogged down with frustration for not being able to experience more of God in a personal way.

If you are interested in more detailed, weekly/daily updates and occasional photos, feel free to visit my blog: http://www.xanga.com/nom_AD_ic

Thank you for taking the time to read my updates. I don’t say it often enough but you all mean the world to me. And, if ever you are willing, I would love to know how you are doing as well.

With love,

Adrienne

Updated Trip List 2009

Here is an updated list of all of the mission trips and local mission opportunities for 2009:

Hurricane Ike Relief Trip (for men)
Dates: April 1-5
Cost: $100
Contact: Steve Niermann
(stevenniermann@tx.rr.com)

East Asia Vision Trip
Dates: March 13-22
Cost: Trip is full
Contact: Ellen Childress
(ellen.childress@verizon.net)

Quito, Ecuador
Dates: Late July
Cost: $2,000
Contact: Sharon Roelke
(roelke1@tx.rr.com)

Aurich, Germany
Dates: July 24 - August 2
Cost: approx. $1,500
Contact: Bruce & Joanna Breckenfeld
(breckenb@verizon.net)

Kenya
Dates: Late July
Cost: approx. $3,000
Contact: Sharon Roelke
(roelke1@tx.rr.com)

Cambodia
Dates: Late September
Cost: TBD
Contact: Sharon Roelke
(roelke1@tx.rr.com)

El Paso, TX
Local missions working with homeless, children, no heavy labor.
Dates: fall (a Thursday-Tuesday)
Cost: approx. $300
Contact: Susan Sublett
(sublettfamily@gmail.com)

Local Missions Opportunities:

Feed My Starving Children Meal-Packing Day
Dates: June 5-6
No costs, but donations welcome to help cover the cost of the food we are packing
Contact: Abbey Daniels (fmscdallas@gmail.com)

Sidewalk Bible School
Every Saturday 11-noon, in South Carrollton
Bringing Sunday School to underprivileged kids
Contact: Carolyn Giffen
(cgiffen@firstchurch.net)

Crossroads Community Services
Third Monday of every month from 6:30-8:30 (carpool from church at 5:30)
Variety of activities from serving meals to maintaining facilities
An optional dinner is provided for $10
www.ccsdallas.org
Contact Abbey Daniels for info
(abbeyrenee@gmail.com)

Feed My Starving Children

A great opportunity for local volunteering is coming up at our church this summer.

On June 5-6, we are hosting a Mobile Packing Day at the church (actually at CCA) where we will be packing 100,000 meals for children all over the world in a day and a half. We need at least 500 volunteers to be able to do it!

The meals are packets engineered specifically for malnourished children, and only cost 17 cents per meal. They contain rice, soy protein, dehydrated vegetables, and vitamin-fortified chicken flavoring. I have tasted the mixture once it's cooked up, it tastes a lot like Rice-A-Roni.

For more information about the organization that we are teaming with for this, go to www.fmsc.org. All of their meals are packed by volunteers.

Volunteers will work in manageable, two-hour shifts, with one shift on Friday from 6-8, and 6 shifts on Saturday, every two hours from 8am-8pm. If we fill up, more shifts may be added earlier Friday.

Kids and youth are more than welcome. Donations are also welcome, as we will be covering the cost of the meals ($17,000), but are not required.

If you would like to sign up to come pack meals with us, send a donation, or receive more information, email me (Abbey) at fmscdallas@gmail.com. Let me know your name, the best way to contact you (either email address or phone number), and which shift you would like to work.

Cambodia and Nigeria

There will be a trip going to Cambodia this fall (2009). This will be a much smaller trip to scope out and begin to pray for the trip that will go in 2010, which will be larger, youth-friendly, and will have a medical focus. The trip this year will not be open to youth, primarily because it will require two weeks and be during the school year. We hope to have some of our own Cambodian congregation come along.

The Grigsbys would like to lead another trip to Nigeria in November of this year, exact dates to be announced. It will likely be a two-week trip, but it won't be a big deal to have someone come late or leave early, I guess they'll be close to an airport. If anyone is interested in this trip, contact me and I'll get you in touch with Scott Grigsby.

Trips; Kenya, El Paso

Some more information about a couple more trips we will (likely) be taking this year:

Some of you are aware that our church took a group to Kenya last summer; I have posted notes from several people who went on that trip on this blog. Another trip is in the works for this year, but dates and details are not finalized just yet as they wait to hear from a doctor that they hope to take along.

Lois Evans would like to take a group from our church to El Paso for a senior-friendly mission trip. This trip is designed to keep travel stresses and costs to a minimum. Participants will stay in host homes and will collaborate with a network of homeless shelters in the downtown El Paso area to do volunteer work suitable for any physical condition. Cost will likely be around $350-$400. This trip will be in late September or October, but these dates are not finalized yet either.

Both of these trips are still in planning stages, please be sure to check back here regularly for more details as they come together if you are interested in going.

Gospel for Asia Update

December, 2008

Jorhat, Assam
INDIA

Dear sponsors,

Greetings to you in the matchless name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

I would like to convey my heartfelt thanks to you for your precious prayers and financial support for my ministry. Please continue to remember me in your prayer. I too remember you in my prayer. May the good Lord bless you abundantly.

In the last six months of my ministry the Lord blessed me and helped me to reach many villages with the message of the love of God. Also the Lord granted me sound health and guided me in His way in the ministry. I thank God for all his blessings that the Lord has enabled me to experience.

At present I am serving the Lord as a pastor and evangelist at Aantimuria. In this area most of the people are non-Christians. These people are economically very poor. But they are giving good response to the Gospel. The Lord is using us very effectively among these people. Please pray for these people and their salvation.

As a church every day we are involving in different activities like outreach ministry, Gospel preaching, house visitation, hospital visitation, door-to-door evangelism and personal evangelism. Through our ministry many people received the Lord as their personal Savior, and they were added into the church. Please continue to pray for my ministry.

During the last six months of my ministry the Lord enabled me to distribute 200 Gospel tracts and 10 New Testaments. As a result of my ministry five people received the Lord as their personal Savior and received water baptism.

Pray for my church believers that they would stand firm in their faith in Christ.

Pray for me in my ministry so that I may be able to do the ministry effectively.

In Christ,

Anadh Kutum

SKG/KS

A couple more trips

There will be a hurricane relief trip for Hurricane Ike on April 1-5. They will stay in Texas City and work in Galveston, similar to the trip they took to New Orleans last year. I believe this year women can come too, as the housing situation is different. The cost for that trip is likely to be $150-200. The purpose of the trip is, I believe, demolition of houses that were destroyed in the hurricane.

A trip is planned this summer for Aurich, Germany, where a team went last year. They will stay in homes and do a baseball camp. It will be July 24-August 2. The cost of the trip will be just a little over transportation costs, including the flight from Dallas and a train ride.

I have added a little bit of information about myself (Abbey Daniels) and my email to the "About me" section to the right. Another way to contact me with questions is just to comment on the particular blog post, I get those in email form as well.

I'M BACK... I promise.

It has been requested that I post information regarding the trips that we have on schedule for this year. So I will oblige, but a few at a time so they can be searched via tags.

First of all, a group of 10 or 11 from our church will be going to East Asia March 13-22. Three or 4 people on that trip will be on their first ever overseas mission trip, so pray for that group! See Ellen Childress or ask me about more information, although I think it's full.

Over the same week, a group will be going to Quito, Ecuador. They will be working with an organization called Extreme Response there that 5 of us from FUMC worked with in December. See Sharon Roelke for more information about that one, or ask me!

Check back for more info, I'm going to start being more regular about posting on here. Holidays are nuts.

Testimony from Joseph McWilliams, Kenya Trip

God guided every part of me going on this trip to Africa. Everything from my summer school starting no later than a day after I got back to the fact that our entire group never got in one quarrel. Not to mention I didn't even bump my head once! After some experiences I have had on mission trips, this was such a blessing. I will never be the same because of my trip to Kenya. One day we visited an orphanage that took in kids that are anywhere from newborns to three years old. While we were there it was hard to grasp the fact that they had no parents. I'm so used to seeing babies with the parents running behind them. It wasn't until I came home and read this verse that it really hit me:

Ecclesiastes 4:1
Again I looked and saw all the oppression that was taking place under the
sun: I saw the tears of the oppressed- and they have no comforter; power was on the side of their oppressors- and they have no comforter.

So many nights I see the faces of those oppressed orphans and wish there was something I could do. I have been praying that someday there will be. While we were there Leah and I took many pictures and video. She really did a great job and I'm very thankful she was there to help me. I couldn't have done it without her. I'm very excited about the opportunities that God provided me with. I talked to Bob and Ann, the leaders of Bridges International, and figured out they had been looking for somebody to help them with the website. Again, God had a strong hand here. I agreed to help without hesitation. I have been working on a site for them with the pictures we took there. I'll also be making a video to show at church and put on the website I'm making. Please pray for me as I try to balance school, work, and my involvement with these amazing people. I hope to have the video done sometime in August.

When I got to my dorm at West Texas A&M my parents were trying to make me comfortable (after all, I had just flown in from Africa). I tried to explain to them that I was thankful just to have a bed to sleep in and a pillow to lay my head on. I realized how many creature comforts I really do have. The beautiful thing is that, despite having very different daily routines, the Kenyans are the kindest people I've ever met. The collectivistic culture completely captivated me as it harshly contrasted with our culture. I've had trouble adjusting back to America. All I can do is pray that God will send me back to Kenya some day.

Joseph McWilliams

Kenya!

This is from an article written by KJ Roelke.

“Mzungu! Mzungu! China!”

These were some of the first words that I heard out of the street boys’ mouths. After Pastor Shadrack had finished talking to them, they immediately ran towards where the food was being set up.

They knew the drill.

And here we were, a bunch of Americans stuck in a country full of poverty with a stampede (for it certainly was a stampede) of homeless boys running towards us, sticking out like a sore thumb. And then there was me. Not only was I one of the Americans, I was also the only Asian, not to mention someone with a defected right hand. I felt out of place. Leah jumped right in when she saw a baby, but me? I didn’t know what I could do. I thought to myself, all I can do is sing, dance, and play hacky-sack. What do I have to bring to the table? And the next thing I knew, I was on the ground teaching some kids how to dance: true-blue break-dance. I don’t really remember how I got there; all I can remember is wanting so desperately to distract these kids from the pains and suffering they had to go through, that I would do anything for them. I remember playing volleyball and giving them high-5s every time they made a good hit. They all understood that we were there to play with them for however long they were allowed to stay at the compound of Bridges International.

The boys inhabited a corner on the street, and many of them had glue bottles somewhere on their person. I found out during the trip that one of the reasons it is so popular is because the glue’s aroma dulls the hunger pains that they had. And when we stopped at a store really close to get Leah some girly accessory like eye-liner or something, a couple of the boys that knew me from the meal days (Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday) came up to our van and started waving. I had never imagined I would see them anywhere outside the compound (unless we were arriving there and they were waving at us through the windows), yet here they were, waving at me because I taught them how to dance, or kicked a sack of beans around with them? No, they waved because somewhere inside of them, they knew that God cared about them, and that I was one of the people God decided to use to tell them that. And they might not have known it at the time, and they might not know it now, but that is what I know, and I would go back in a heartbeat to play with them again."

Update from Adrienne

October 2008

I broke. After 7 hours of battling against aggressive, angry boys, I lost control of my emotional stability. I had been hit, kicked and called horrible names. Every time I enforced a rule, their behavior became worse and their anger shifted from being directed at their peer, to being directed at me. The anger inside these boys pierced through their eyes and penetrated deep inside of me, even though I desperately tried to remind myself of where these boys come from; telling myself it was not their fault. The last 30 minutes of the day, their behavior escalated even more. Alone I could not cope with this environment any longer. It was too much. I went upstairs to switch places with my co-volunteer. I sat, covered my face and let the tears run down my cheeks. Two small children, accustomed to seeing me strong, confident, and assertive, stared at me with deep concern written in their expressions. "¿Por qué lloras?" [why are you crying?] asked the little boy. I breathed in deeply and swallowed hard to regain my composure in front of the perplexed, worried Pamela and Jon Eduard. I responded with "estoy cansada, no se preocupen." [I'm just tired, don't worry.] I grabbed a broom and began sweeping.

The transition that my kids have made since that day is miraculous. They have acclimated to a structured atmosphere with rules and designated times for work and play. They respond to discipline, physical violence has decreased, and now they are able to learn. They still have days when they seem to regress, but the kids they were when they first arrived in June and the kids they are now, are very different. Hooray!

Esneider beckons me to come sit with him on the bus. I put him on my lap and wait for the other kids to start filing into the seats. Kati, his 2 year old little sister, scoots over on her seat and motions for me to come sit beside her. I move over, now with Esneider on my lap and Kati under my arm. Their older brother, Maicol, is sitting directly in front of us. My leg is beside the seat where he is sitting and he leans against it, ready for the long bus ride back to the south. They are three of the kids that returned to the Other Way after Colombianita was destroyed. Sitting on the bus with the three of them around me was a beautiful, holy moment. It reminded me of my purpose. These little people are why I am here in Bogotá. There was a great deal of peace in that moment. Peace in purpose. I believe that God provides this kind of peace to affirm that you are in the right place doing the right thing. It's an overwhelming sense of perfection in God's purpose for you. These moments are my fuel for days when I feel helpless, days like I described above.

This emphasizes the importance of placing God above all else. Love for God is the key to ultimate love for humanity. I am learning that people, unfortunately, cannot be a continuous motivating factor. They will eventually disappoint you. They will hurt you, intentional or otherwise. This is something of which I personally struggle because I want to believe that all people have some degree of inherent goodness. However, no matter how humanistic one might be, putting your hope and trust in people is not sufficient. You will burn out. You must have divine purpose in what you do. You must believe that God is love; this will reign over everything else and allow you to love and serve without condition.

I hope this letter finds you all very well. Please know how very much I appreciate everyone of you. Your prayers and support mean a great deal; without them, I could not be here. Thank you for continuing to read my little updates. I hope they paint at least a small picture of what things are like here. Y'all are amazing! THANK YOU!


With love,
Adrienne

Update from Liz

The truck hit a bump and all the contents in the bed bounced six inches into the air with a shout. The princess, draped in a green and orange chitenge, slid from center of my lap down to my knees. I clasped my hands as tight as possible around her waist, trying to save her limp body from falling onto the floor and awakening her from whatever dreams her seven year old imagination was portraying in her mind. As her head found its place on my collarbone almost like a perfect puzzle piece, I looked up across the seats, peering between her family members, and followed the dusk glow of the horizon with my eyes while whispering a prayer of thanks to God. I turned to Matt, my teammate who also decided to jump into the back of the truck with me when our leader asked if anyone would like to go with Chief Nyawa back to his village, and said..

"in this moment, my heart could explode."

It was the last night of our expedition to Nyawa village, and had i not hiked up my skirt & ascended into the back of the truck, i might not be able to say that i truly enjoyed myself. it's nothing again the people of Nyawa village, whose smiles when they met us spoke of more joy than a person who just won the lottery, or against my team, which consists of eight of the most colorful, diverse and Christ-seeking individuals you could ask for. the only person who could prevent me from enjoying myself is myself. As most of you know, in the few weeks leading up to my departure for Zambia, i heard the Lord just say 'you are going to be broken.' Broken? Broken being shattered, scattered, ripped apart and no longer of use.. this was the definition that came to mind. I must be broken of who i am in order to embrace that who God wants me to be. Ripped apart from the safe identity I have made for myself and physically apart from the comforts and familiarity of the west. No longer of use to fill the dreams and expectations I made for myself of being a typical 22 [almost 23] year old but become a useful servant in the Kingdom of God.

This first trip to the Bush was the beginning of that process. In the Bush, I expected to be challenged with bugs, dirt, and trees for toilets, which i was, but what i was not expecting was the theological challenge. Our first full day, we split our team into two, and i put myself on the evangelize team, because that's one of my weaknesses. As we left for the huts, one of my teammates grew ill, and our leader decided to walk with her back to camp, leaving two translators and yours truly, still wandering down the sandy paths out into the middle of nowhere rural Zambia. as we approached the first home, i realized that i have absolutely no idea what i am doing. i have been in Zambia less than a week! i don't know how these people live, what they believe or even how to greet them properly. Walking up to the door, i prayed on every exhale. "who the, what the, where the, how the, God.. help me!" I'll never forget that first house. I realized no matter how much 'preparation' or reading i could of done, nothing could of told me what to do in that situation. I sat on the floor, tucked my skirt under my legs, and asked the ladies a few questions about themselves, their children and whats for lunch. One of our translators, prompted and told me that this is the part where i should encourage them with scripture. i turned the bent pages of my bible, praying 'God give me something.. anything..' I landed in Ephesians and spoke about Gods love for their life, and how no matter what stuggles they face, he will never forsake them. simple, i know.. but that's all i felt leaded to say, and i pray that they understood how deep and wide Gods love truly is. Laura, our leader, approached us right when we were leaving and she congratulated me on not sinking since she pretty much threw me into the rive and said 'swim.'

this was only the first day of three. the following two days consisted of traveling around to other rural Zambian villages, hosting a plethora of meetings and services, praying over the troubled and sick. To be honest, through it all, my heart was burdened. Approach on ministry here is so different than the routine i knew in the states, and i was struggling with questions as to what exactly am i doing and does this truly work? All i was longing for was a connection to the people. A personal connection with the pastors wife, or clinic nurse, or one of mothers who filled the church's meetings, or even just a child. The past three days I felt completely detached from the world around me and i couldn't shake the spirit of doubt. As the evening approached on the last day in Nyawa, i collapsed on top of the sun bleached leather seats of the truck and just prayed for someone, anyone, to make me feel something other than doubt or confusion. The team hosted our last meeting in the church and we were all graced by the presence of chief Nyawa and his extended family. As the shadows grew longer and the third day came to a close, i gathered my things to walk back to camp. I walked pass the truck as Dan, our leader, started the engine making me jump. I asked him where he was going and he said that he needed to get the chief back to his palace before dark. it must have been the word 'palace' that provoked me to ask 'can i come?'

And it was on that two hour long drive, that God answered my prayer through one of his daughters, a little princess. I sat down in a seat among the Nyawa royalty with the thought of 'at least I'll see something different' when she climbed into my lap. the ride was a bumpy journey, but that didn't stop the family from singing and dancing the whole duration of the trip. the children and adults a like, did their best to keep balance while shaking there hips to the chitange song as their voices carried across the grass and scarce trees so that anyone within a 5k could hear their joy. the words between she and i were few, but her smile, laughter, and simple presence spoke clearly enough for me to know that i am, indeed, not spending three months in Zambia on a pointless mission.

after all, i make one awesome pillow.

Pictures from Cambodia!

Check them out:

Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7